I freaking love book mail.

Book subscriptions, a sweet deal on one of my books, and a movie that left me confused

Dec 10, 2021

Hi.

My name is Roni. And I have a problem.

I can’t stop signing up for bookish subscriptions.

Today, one of the most dangerous episodes of the RAD Reading podcast dropped—the bookish gift episode. On the surface, this episode is a helpful discussion about how to buy the right books for your friends and family. It also includes the two of us waxing poetic about our favorite bookish gifts. Why is this dangerous?

Well, because I have no shelf control.

Dawn Alexander, my partner in crime on the podcast, suggested that I include a list of bookish subscriptions as part of the episode since I’ve been a member of Book of the Month for years. I went off to make a list and do a little research so I could talk accurately about each one.

Can you guess what happened next?

Yeah, by the time we recorded the episode, I’d signed up for 6 months of The Book Drop’s romance subscription (Books for Bubbly) and then this week, when I was grabbing the links for the show notes, I somehow accidentally on purpose signed up for a subscription to The Bookworm Box (Colleen Hoover’s subscription box that gives all profits to charity.) I also still have my Book of the Month subscription.

I was supposed to be shopping for Christmas gifts for others not buying things for myself.

I have no excuse except to say, I freaking love book mail.

There’s something about the anticipation built into the process. In our technology-driven world, we’re used to things being instant. If I want a book, it can be on my e-reader in seconds. If I want to watch a movie, I have a list of streaming services that will deliver it to me on demand.

You would think that being spoiled in that way would mean book subscriptions would seem archaic. I mean, you don’t even get Amazon-style quick shipping. You gotta wait and watch that mail tracking status. That subscription doesn’t go out until a certain time of the month and then it’s shipped USPS, usually media mail speed, which means it can be a week before you get it.

But I think that’s what makes it feel more special. Anticipation can feel a little delicious. You have a present coming! And it’s a book! And, in many cases, you don’t know what that book will be! So there’s a surprise built-in too.

I love that feeling.

I also love that sense of discovery. I do a pretty good job of picking books for myself, but there are SO many out there to choose from. Sometimes it’s nice to have someone else say “this is great, you should try it.” With both The Book Drop and the Bookworm Box, you don’t know which books are coming. They’re selected for you. For Book of the Month, the surprise is when they announce the five selections and add-ons for the month, but you get to pick which one (or three) you want. So, there’s still an element of curation and surprise.

Of course, there’s also risk involved. You may not like the book. But that’s a risk when I buy a book on my own too. There are no guarantees in reading.

So, in 2022, I’ll be signed up for three bookish subscriptions and will regularly be stalking our mail person. :)

Here’s a little about the three I’m signed up for. I list a number of other ones in the podcast episode if you want to check that out too.

My 2022 Bookish Subscriptions:

Book of the Month (affiliate link) - I’ve been a member for years. They pick a mix of genres. Usually, there’s at least one thriller. Lately, there’s been at least one romance. Others may be literary fiction, historical fiction, science fiction, and non-fiction. These are all traditionally published books. You can skip a month if you’re not interested in anything and aren’t charged. You can get up to three hardcovers (first book is $15.99, other two are $9.99, which is really cheap for new release hardcovers.)

The Book Drop - This one supports the independent bookstore Bethany Beach Books. They have a number of different themed subscriptions, depending on which genre you want. I chose Books for Bubbly, which is romance and women’s fic. You can switch your theme or mix and match them. These books are traditionally published books and are trade paperback size. (Cost is $18.99 plus shipping per month.) *Full disclosure: my book Yes & I Love You was one of their selections earlier this year

The Bookworm Box - This one supports charitable causes and was started by author Colleen Hoover. They have romance boxes and YA boxes. There are a number of different levels of boxes from ebook-only to boxes with signed books and swag. The fun thing about this one is that the paperbacks have exclusive special edition covers and the books are signed by the author. These books are indie-published books. I chose the “It’s All About the Books” box which comes with two autographed paperbacks with exclusive covers, 2 ebooks, and some swag-type things. This is the priciest box at $49.99, but there are boxes as low as $9.99. You can skip a month and not be charged.

Off the Clock is on sale for $1.99!

Normally it’s $15.99 in ebook,y’all, grab it now!

This book doesn’t go on sale often. I think it’s been years, lol. The normal ebook price is around $15.99, so $1.99 is a real deal sale. This is book one in a two book erotic romance series. It won the RITA award for Best Erotic Romance in 2017.

About the book:

Overtime has never felt so good...

Marin Rush loves studying sex. Doing it? That's another story. In the research lab, Marin's lack of practical knowledge didn't matter, but now that she's landed a job at The Grove, a high-end, experimental sex therapy institute, she can't ignore the fact that the person most in need of sexual healing may be her.

Dr. Donovan West, her new hotshot colleague, couldn't agree more. Donovan knows that Marin's clients are going to eat her alive unless she gets some hands-on experience. And if she fails at the job, he can say goodbye to a promotion, so he assigns her a list of R-rated tasks to prepare her for the wild clientele of The Grove's X-wing.

But some of those tasks are built for two, and when he finds Marin searching for a candidate to help her check off her list, Donovan decides there's only one man for the job--him. As long as they keep their erotic, off-the-clock activities strictly confidential and without strings, no one will get fired--or worse, get attached...

BUY THE EBOOK: Nook | Kindle | Kobo | iBooks | Google Play

And if you enjoy it, book two, By the Hour, is only $4.99!

RAD Reading podcast

As I mentioned above, today’s episode is all about bookish gifts, including book subscriptions and buying for difficult readers in your family. Come hang out with us! (There are also bloopers at the end.)

Romantic Movie Marathon

I’m not doing a full movie review this week because I watched Strictly Ballroom, an Australian movie by Baz Luhrmann from 1993 and…

I didn’t get it.

On Rotten Tomatoes, this movie has a 91% critic score and an 87% audience score (plus, Dirty Dancing is my favorite movie of all time, so I’m primed to like a romantic ballroom dancing movie), so I was expecting to at least like it. But clearly, I’m missing something.

Everyone was loud and styled like they should live at the capitol in The Hunger Games, and it was just over the top in every way. Maybe I just don’t like farce. I didn’t mind the couple at the heart of the story, and the scenes with just them could be charming, but literally everything else made me want to lean back further on the couch and wince. Also, because I have Dirty Dancing memorized, I couldn’t help but notice moments that seemed directly, uh, inspired by that movie (which came out a few years before this one.)

So, yes, it’s a romance. Yes, there was dancing. Yes, many other people seem to like it. But, this wasn’t for me. I’ll just watch Dirty Dancing for the eleventy-millionth time if I want some ballroom romance. (By the way, the critic score on Rotten Tomatoes for Dirty Dancing is 69% - proof that we can’t trust the critics, lol. Audience score is 90%)

That’s all I’ve got for you today. I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Any Strictly Ballroom fans out there? What am I missing?

And are you a bookish subscription person? Which is your favorite? Or, tell me your favorite bookish gift to give or receive!